PREVIEW: Allegany vs. Fort Hill (MD)

November 1, 2012

The Allegany Campers will play host to the Fort Hill Sentinels this Saturday afternoon at Greenway Avenue Stadium in Cumberland, Maryland. This Homecoming game will be the 86th time these schools have met. The Sentinels won last season’s matchup 50-7 on their way to completing a Maryland record breaking 14th undefeated regular season. The series dates all the way back to 1936 with Fort Hill leading in wins 49-32-4. Both teams sit atop the Freelance League standings; Allegany is 4-0 while Fort hill is 3-0 in league play.

The Fort Hill Sentinels recorded their 14th undefeated regular season in 2011 and won the 1A West Region, but that is not what the team will remember. The team will remember losing in the semifinals of the Class 1A playoffs for the second year in a row. The 2011 team is pretty much gone; the Sentinels return just 1 starter from last year. Junior Hunter Squires has earned the starting quarterback position. A variety of players will see some carries out of the backfield in the Sentinels Wing-T offense. Junior Dekari Darr will receive the most carries followed by senior Zac Elbin. Sophomores Alex Barnes and Ty Mance will also see some carries. Defensively, the Sentinels lost the majority of players from a team that allowed just 97 points in 13 games. The line will be anchored by junior Cody Arigo who was elected 2nd-team All-Area last year. Joining him on the line at the end positions are junior Adam Duvall and sophomore Ryan Shives. Elbin will lead the linebacking unit, along with Rashaan Shives. The secondary will feature Travis Bush at safety. Alex Barnes and Garrett Armentrout will man the cornerback positions. Fort Hill comes into Saturday’s game with a 7-2 record and is riding a 5-game winning streak.

The Allegany Campers football program is back on track. After going 5-5 in 2010 and an abysmal 3-7 last year, the Campers are 7-2 this season and look poised to make a deep playoff run. Although the team did not return an All-Area team member this year for the first time since 1976, they did return a group of experienced players to build their team around. One of those returning players is senior Carter Imes at quarterback. Also returning in the backfield is Christian Thomas at halfback. Although Thomas will see most of the carries, Madison Wolford and Dylan Shockey have shown they can make big plays as well for the Campers. Up front, the Campers have a big line that starts with Antonio Destefano and William Tevis. Shockey and Kirk Robinette will lead the linebackers on defense. The defensive line returned the leading tackler from last season in Aniellio Destefano. Darion Lopez, Hayden Bosley and Trenton Eirich will shut down opposing receivers at the cornerback positions. Jordan Shook will patrol the secondary at Safety. The Campers have won 2 in a row going into Saturday. Depending on what happens with Boonsboro this weekend, Fort Hill and Allegany could see each other in the opening round of the playoffs.

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